Encounter at Olympic Auto
by Heta14
Summary: Esperanza was speechless.  This man…his face…it hurt to look at him, but she couldn't look away.  His face was riddled with pockmarks, and scars."I said.  Who are you?"  The man repeated again, in a more angry tone. Please R&R oneshot?


**Just going to straight out and say it.**

**If you like this story, and would like for me to expand upon it. Please, please Review! If not, I'll most likely let this get dusty in my folders.**

**Thank you and please enjoy it. (:**

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><p>Ave María, cuando serás mía<br>Si me quisieras, todo te daría  
>Ave María, cuando serás mía<br>Al mismo cielo, yo te llevaría.

Dime tan solo una palabra  
>Que me devuelva la vida<br>Y se me quede en el alma  
>Porque sin ti no tengo nada<br>Envuélveme con tus besos  
>Refúgiame en tu guarida<p>

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><p>The music blared in the background of the Texan workshop that Esperanza Valdez was working in. The weather was scorching hot, definitely the low 100s, but the low humidity gave an air a feeling that you can only feel in the American southwest. In the corner, an old dusty fan whirred in a sickly way, and barely gave anybody in the shop any actual breeze.<p>

Esperanza was a total grease monkey. Though she could never get a steady job, the local people knew that if they wanted to get their car fixed, or anything mechanical, they only had to find the mechanica caliente. Right now, she just had to adjust some things at the bottom of the car and hopefully she could go home for the night.

"HEY HEY! Esperanza! Lookin fine as usual today. How's mi carro doing?" A slightly pudgy Mexican man walked over and pounded the side of the car. He fanned himself, and it sure looked like he needed it, his face was sweating like mad, and the sweat marks…well, it looked like they weren't going to come out anytime soon.

"Juan!" Esperanza exclaimed flashing one of her warm smiles to the friendly man, and she rolled out from under the car. She grabbed a somewhat clean rag from a stool nearby and approached Juan.

"I'm almost done. I'm going to charge the usual price. That good Juan?" She said wiping some grease off her hands the rag.

"Bueno?" Juan said cracking a smile. "You're work is always the best around here chica! Any machine that your hands touch, never break until those gangs estupido steal the parts! That's a great deal."

Esperanza smiled back. She then remembered something that she forgot to ask Juan earlier.

"Hey Juan, by any chance did you find me a job somewhere else? I like working here, but the pays not enough for mi rent." She asked causally, though Juan knew her well enough that she was actually wracking her nerves underneath the surface. He sighed.

"Geez…you know how it's hard to find jobs these days. Not many of my bros like the girls working in their shops. I've been looking around, and the only guy that seems okay with the chicas working under the hood is that hombre feo on 53rd street, and good thing for you too, he just fired one of the boys that he was working with and now nobody's there." Juan said rapidly. Esperanza rolled her eyes and started putting her tools away.

"Juan." She chided. "Don't judge a book by its cover. They always say the bad stuff about the man but I heard he always does a good job, and I heard he don't charge to much either."

Juan shrugged his shoulders with a sigh.

"If you want to go to the man, it's fine with me. He such a big an' scary man. I hear the gangs don't go near his shop. He's got like, a _hundred_ booby traps and top security. He just gives me the chillies you know? " Juan said overdramatically shaking to prove his point. Esperanza laughed.

"Jesus, we live in Texas. You been near an air condition lately? I'm going to ask the man for a job." She said grabbing her tool box and she shoved it into the backseat of a rusty car which was hers. Juan opened his mouth to object.

"Don't object." She said giving Juan a glare and pointing her finger accusingly towards him. Juan shrugged.

"Look chica, just let me know if you stay with the man. I need to know where to take my car next time somebody messes with the stuff under the hood." Juan said with a friendly smile. Esperanza smiled back.

"See you round Juan." She said as she opened the driver door and took off toward 53rd street. Leaving a cloud of dust behind her.

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><p>Esperanza parked the car infront of the car shop and she took her sunglasses off. Squinting at the sign, it said in big imposing letters: OLYMPIC AUTO.<p>

_Thinks he's a bigshot. Olympic Auto? Probably has an ego the size of a Montana._ She snorted as she opened the dusty glass door of the shop. A small sign that said "Welcome! Remember that you're being monitored 24/7 and have a nice day. Please stand in line until I can assist you." was taped to the wall behind the front desk. Remembering what Juan said about the security she chuckled. Looking at the desk, there was nobody there.

Seeing how there was no line, she walked up to the front desk and saw a small bell. Peering back into the back room, Esperanza could not see anybody back there, but she heard the clanking of iron so _somebody _had to be back there.

"Hello?" She said. "You back there?"

The clanking stopped, and a man started walking towards the front desk. He at first peered around the edge of the back door, and he visibly relaxed when he saw only Esperanza standing there. He came out with a crow bar in his hands.

"Sorry. I thought you were one of those hoodlums back to steal some stuff from the shop." He said grumpily. "Who're you?"

Esperanza was speechless. This man…his face…it hurt to look at him, but she couldn't look away. His face was riddled with pockmarks, and scars. She couldn't see most of the lower part of his face because of the beard, but she would be comfortable about betting a few dollars that she had to spare that there were more scars there. On his leg, there was a brace.

"I said. Who are you?" The man repeated again, in a more angry tone than before, and his eyes narrowed. Esperanza looked him right back into his eyes.

"Valdez. Esperanza Valdez." She said acidly. She quickly gave a mind slap to herself. This was the man that she was trying to get a job from, not a man she was trying to pick a fight with. A sign of weakness was to break eye contact. Ha! Like that was something she would do soon.

The man eyed her curiously, as if he'd forgotten that she responded in an angry tone.

"Conrad Mason." He grunted, he looked away to open the small beaten up fridge door that was nearby. After grabbing a water bottle, he turned around and glanced at Esperanza.

"You're the girl that works at Aranzo's place right?" Conrad said. She nodded. "I've heard some things going around about you."

"Are they good things?" She said somewhat curiously. If they were good, maybe, just maybe she would have a better chance of getting this job. He shrugged.

"Lots of people are curious why a girl would suddenly move from good old LA to the dry lands of Texas." He said, drinking some water. Esperanza visibly stiffened.

"I…I lived in New Orleans with my father, my mother died when I was young. When he died, I decided to start over and move out here where my mom was from. Fat lot of help they've been." She snorted. "You don't need to know about my family Conrad. Do you think I came here to tell you about me and my father?"

"I'm taking that as a no." He said after a moment of silence. He said like it was a question.

"Your people skills suck." Esperanza said with a hint of a smile.

"I've heard that more than once over the years." Conrad said. "So why are you here Esperanza. I know you can fix anything by yourself."

"I want a job." She said. "Word is, you don't have anybody else working here and you don't have a problem with chicas like me, do you need an extra hand?"

Conrad's jaw dropped a bit, and he was silent. He turned away quickly to get more water.

"I'll think about it." He said quickly.

"Dios!" Esperanza cussed under her breath.

"Come on, let me work here! I need the money for the rent! You don't seem like a scary guy under that ugly face of yours. I'll be good!" Esperanza blurted out. She stopped talking.

_Oh god no. He won't hire me now. Stupid Esperanza! Don't talk. Always getting in trouble with your big mouth of yours._ She thought to herself.

Conrad turned towards her. To her surprise, he didn't look as angry as she thought. He looked more sad than anything else.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm so so-" She blurted out quickly, but Conrad stopped her.

"No…It's alright." He said. He gave her a curious glance. He walked around the counter so that he was directly in front of her.

"Tell me. What was the name of your father." Conrad said curiously, stroking his beard slowly. Esperanza narrowed her eyes.

"What does this have to do with me getting a job?" She said a bit sourly.

"Name?" Conrad said with a smile.

"Job?" Esperanza said glaring at Conrad's brown eyes. She finally gave up.

"Fine. Samuel Valdez." She said rolling her eyes. She stared at Conrad, who had stopped stroking his beard in surprise.

"And I thank the newest employee of Olympic Auto." Conrad said with something Esperanza could almost consider a grin. Her face brightened up and she threw her arms around his neck in a hug that would crush anybody but a mechanic that worked in the shop all day.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" Esperanza said with a big smile on her face. Conrad gently pushed her off, a bit uncomfortable.

"You start tomorrow morning. Seven o'clock sharp." Conrad said. Esperanza nodded.

"Seven tomorrow. Got it. See you Conrad!" Esperanza said with glee, and she exited the shop. She got in the car and drove away, leaving Conrad eying the rusty car driving down the street.

"Nice girl." A deep voice said from behind Conrad, and he turned around quickly. Upon seeing who it was, Conrad relaxed. The man was wearing a dark suit, and he had a dark tie to match his gloomy outfit.

"Hello Hades." Conrad said. "What brings you here to my current workshop?"

Hades shrugged. "Funeral down the street, thought I would pop in seeing how you're nearby, Hephaestus."

Hephaestus sighed, and snapped his fingers. Two comfortable looking chairs appeared out of thin air behind the two gods. Hephaestus grabbed a coke, and sat down in the chair closest to him. As he opened the coke, he eyed Hades warily.

"Don't fool me Hades. Tell me why you told me to ask the Valdez what the name of her father was." Hephaestus said. "Don't lie to me either."

Hades examined his nails as if it wasn't his business and he glanced up to the god of the forge.

"Nothing in particular." Hades said. Hephaestus's beard began to spark and he glared at Hades. Hades stopped looking at his nails.

"Oh fine! Since you're so persistent." Hades pouted. "Valdez looked a lot like a guy that had interest in one of my children. Don't give me that look Hephaestus! It was a_ very _long time ago _obviously._ Before the war."

"I didn't know you watched your children that closely Hades." Hephaestus. Hades snorted.

"And you? Have you been practicing with your humanoid automatons? I didn't know you could actually keep eye contact with a woman for over 20 seconds." Hades said chuckling. "I didn't know that a woman was actually _willing_ to look you in the eyes for 3!"

"Out." Hephaestus said in a deathly tone. "You cross the line."

Hades was silent, he then got up, and walked to the dusty door Esperanza herself had walked out of minutes before.

"I hope I see you soon." Hades said airily, as if he didn't just insult his nephew.

"No you don't." Hephaestus said. Hades rolled his eyes.

"I thought you would have known about sarcasm by now. Your people skills really _are_ horrible." Hades said. He then walked out the door and disappeared into a shadow.

Hephaestus sighed and leaned back further into his chair and stared at the ceiling. He sipped more of his coke.

"Well…she did look me in the eyes. That counts for something right?" Hephaestus said to nobody in general in the shop.

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><p><span>Translation of the song:<span>

Ave Maria, when you'll be mine  
>If you loved me, all you would<br>Ave Maria, when you'll be mine  
>At the same sky, I would.<p>

Tell me just one word  
>Let me back to life<br>And I remain in the soul  
>Because I have nothing without you<br>Wrap me with your kisses

-Ave Maria, David Bisbal

Some words for those people that took French or German in their high school days

mechanica caliente is hot mechanic

carro is car

bueno is good

chica is girl

estupido is stupid

mi is my

feo is ugly

Montana is mountain

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><p><strong>So what did you guys think? Should I continue this…I'll see how this does reviews wise, and if I want to continue it. It's hard making a relationship between Esperanza, who is very happy and emotional, whereas the only thing Hephaestus knows what to do is build stuff.<strong>

**If you liked this, then you'll like the one about Hermes and Mrs. Rockwell (the Stoll's mother) which is a one shot. Check out my other stuff too, which is on my author's page, preferably The Wait, and the one about Will Solace. The others are from my earlier days of Fanfictioning. They're not my good in my opinion but what my age group likes to say: "Whatevs"**

**Please review, it means a lot to me and it does determine if I'm more motivated to continue this story or not!**

**Thank you!**

**-Heta14^_^**


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